Companies use diversions to raise money for charity or celebrate company milestones. Sometimes they gather just to help the staff let off steam.

Think tricycle races, free trips to the State Fair of Texas on company time, ski trips for the entire staff, daily cookie sales, Zumba classes and movie nights.

There are other common traits.

The Top 100 companies have strong leaders, and the troops enjoy following them.

In the words of an employee at Alliance Data, winner in the “Most Clued-In Senior Management” category: “There’s this feeling of symbiosis: If we’re all doing well, learning and growing individually, then it makes an impact on our overall goals as a department and, ultimately, as a business. I truly believe senior managers appreciate what I bring to the table.”

These CEOs also listen to employees who propose little ideas as morale boosters.

One of my favorites: an Easter egg hunt with extra paid time off inside.

Mediocre companies don’t enter the competition. Why would they? Employees are the judges, and they have carte blanche to say what’s on their minds about their bosses. We just collect and analyze their thoughts.

This year, 276 companies with nearly 165,000 Dallas-Fort Worth employees thought they were good enough to be contenders.

Competition was particularly tight in the large company category, those with at least 500 workers here.

How strong were our winners?

The Container Store was at the top of our list and No. 1 on the National Top 10. Our research partner, WorkplaceDynamics, does surveys in 35 markets, and it compiles the national list from those results.

Pioneer Natural Resources USA Inc. ranked second on our big company list and third nationally.

Our midsize company winner is new to our competition: Texas Excavation Safety System Inc., known as Texas811, which helps people locate buried gas, telephone and electric lines.

In the small company category, last year’s No. 2 winner, Scott+Reid General Contractors Inc., moved up to the No. 1 spot.

Hiring mode

The companies on this year’s Top 100 list say their businesses are growing and they’re hiring.

Sixty-six of the 100 responded to our hiring survey, which asked about their plans for the next few months to a year. The vast majority indicated that they’ll add staff — anywhere from two people to nearly 500.

Not a single company indicated that it would make staff cuts in the foreseeable future — and they were given the opportunity to respond anonymously.

What kinds of jobs are coming on stream?

Oil and gas companies and health care are still on the hunt for good workers.

Baylor Health Care System, which has a total workforce of 20,000, has about 1,200 positions open, and 476 of those are new jobs.

“We are always looking for great nurses and other professionals who can help us create and deliver a superior patient care experience,” says Baylor CEO Joel Allison. “At the current time, positions for operating room, emergency room and critical care nurses are highly sought after, and the market is very competitive.”

Rick Merrill, chief executive of Cook Children’s Health Care System, plans to fill 300 positions in the next six months.

“Some positions will be more difficult to fill than others due to shortages of available talent, particularly in clinical areas,” he says. “Yet we believe our collegial environment, our culture of caring and our shared sense of purpose will continue to draw great candidates to our organization.”

April Anthony, CEO of Encompass Home Health, expects to keep the current annual growth rate of 200 additional employees in the next year — 80 percent skilled nurses and licensed therapists and 20 percent nonskilled administrative support.

“We have not had significant challenges in filling our open positions,” she says.

Other sectors

Professional service sectors are also showing signs of rebirth, with accounting, tax, law, financial services and consulting companies on the prowl for rainmakers and support staff.

Matt Cosia, partner of Montgomery Coscia Greilich LLP, says he’ll be looking for 50 “outgoing and personable accountants” in the next half-year.

Keith Moore, CEO of 4Front Engineered Solutions Inc., expects to add six to nine engineering and sales employees. “Filling our open positions has proven more challenging in the last couple of years, as we are very selective in considering candidates who exhibit the behaviors and skills that support our high-performing organization.”

Jessica Hoffmann, executive director at Strasburger & Price LLP, says the law firm will take advantage of the downturn in the profession.

“We anticipate hiring both at the lawyer and staff level across the firm to help us with our growing practices,” she says. “We have been lucky to be able to pick up very talented people in the last several years due to the state of the economy, and we expect to continue to be able to benefit from that.”

Ray Hammer, general manager of the Sheraton Dallas, typically needs 10 to 20 new hotel employees every month.

To fill that many slots with quality employees, he has to be creative. He rewards current employees for their recruiting efforts and works with local outreach organizations, including Bridges From School to Work, Dress for Success, Attitude and Attire, Union Gospel Mission, the Urban League of Greater Dallas, the Samaritan Inn and City Square.

When companies were asked what they’re looking for in new employees, they often mentioned problem-solvers, creative thinkers and, most important, people who know how to mix hard work with serious fun.

Want to know more about mixing business with pleasure? Check out the magazine, Top 100 Places to Work 2012, in today’s paper and our website, dallasnews.com/top100.

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About Cheryl Hall

MOST MEMORABLE EXPERIENCE ON THE JOB: Probably my most memorable event was with President George Bush (father) shortly after his failed bid for re-election. He'd been out of the limelight. I tried to ask him some political questions hoping to get a scoop. But he clapped me on the elbow and said, "Cheryl, one of the true joys of being out of office is I don't have to stand here and be interviewed by you. If you'd like to chat informally, I'd be happy to." I took a big breath, clapped him on the arm and said, "So George, how's the house coming?" He talked about going to Sam's and buying really big jars of spaghetti sauce. I felt like I was in the middle of a Saturday Night Live skit.

Another weird moment was going to a black-tie fete at the Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant that was gearing up to be a fresh-food concept. My "date" for the evening was Dallas restaurateur Norman Brinker, who correctly predicted that the concept would never fly.

SOMETHING PEOPLE DON'T KNOW ABOUT ME: I can be both a bleeding heart liberal and a staunch conservative -- sometimes over the same issue.

IF I HAD TWO SPARE HOURS, I WOULD: Spare hours make me nervous. Given a spare year and plenty of money, I'd travel the world with my husband and daughter.

THE GREATEST CHALLENGE TO COVERING BUSINESS IN NORTH TEXAS: Knowing all the hidden connections among the key players.

Hometown: I was born in San Antonio, but as a military brat, I lived in Japan, suburban Washington, D.C., and Louisiana growing up.

Education: I have a bachelor's of fine arts received from Southern Methodist University in 1973.

I came to work for The Dallas Morning News in May 1972 as a summer intern in the business news department and never left -- so I've been here covering business for four decades.